Local Graffiti Artist, Cloakwork Talks Crazy Rich Asians Feature & Big Brand Collaborations

What is the first thing that came into your mind when you hear the word 'graffiti'? Vandalism? Hot weather? Street kids?

Whatever it is, we know graffiti is an abnormal creative style which we aren't exposed to in our traditional art classes. Most of the time, the style is often viewed negatively by society.

But, what if you have the talent and you are so good at it that even 'Crazy Rich Asians' creative team invited you for a feature?

Would you still have any negative perception?

A Talent In The Making

Chern, who is widely known as Cloakwork on social media has been making waves for himself with his Graffiti art for the past 10 years. His works have been widely featured in multiple local and international platforms.

Surprisingly, he didn't discover this side of himself until college. However, the artistic side of him has long flourished since his primary schools days.

His influence by street culture occurred when he was on the train to Pasar Seni and was immediately mesmerised by the graffiti art on the wall.

Since then, his rebellious side has started to surface. Every day after college, he would head to downtown KL to spray and create.

"I know most of my friends prefer working in air conditioned environments, but me on the other hand love the hot weather and the adrenaline rush. To me, it's an adventure."

The Start of Something Big

His graffiti art project was with a shoe brand, Pallas. His job was to paint a pair of shoes for a TV commercial brand. Thanks to his resilience and consistency, he managed to secured large scale projects with big brands like FoodPanda. Calvin Klein, Nike, YouTube, Hypebeast, Air Asia and more.

(Cloakwork's latest collaboration with FoodPanda)

(Cloakwork was invited to paint the exterior of Air Asia's HQ which is 4-storeys high. From concept to execution, he did it all by himself within 2 weeks)

And who would have thought that one day he would receive an email from the creative team of Crazy Rich Asians.

"It happened so randomly. I was at a meal with a friend and I saw this email asking me to spray for CRA. In my mind, I couldn't make sense what was it until I googled it."

(Cloakwork's graffiti art was featured as part of the background decoration in Collin Khoo's Bachelor Party scene. Watch from 2:58 onwards.)

The team of producers and directors kindly gave him a vast space in Seri Kembangan for him to spray an abandoned shipping container. Though he wasn't involved much in the shooting process, he was lucky enough to get a glimpse after requesting a favour from the team.

Still, who would have dreamed having their work featured on such a large scale Hollywood production?

Tours and International Stardom

Besides brand collaborations and movie productions, Cloakwork is often on tours around the world sharing his love for Graffiti. This includes UK, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Colombia and more.

(United Kingdom tour at 2016) 

(Colombia tour in 2019) 

And of course, all these activities have to come to a half when the pandemic hits in 2020.

"I never thought of giving up my career at all. Though my projects was affected, I believed it was a time for me to try out different thing."

This has opened up a possibility for him to try out planning for a big production, which could lead him to becoming a producer.

What's Next?

Despite the new norm, Cloakwork still has a dream of travelling to more countries and share his work of art. He hopes to inspire people around the world follow what they love and pursue their passion.

He also hopes that the government can allocate some funds to help grow the local graffiti scene. It's not violent and it's not negative. With more spaces given, there is a chance to discover new talent.

Of course, we won't be ending this article without some advice from the successful artist himself.

"Focus on the creation. If you focus too much on the return, you won't get what you want. Most importantly. believe in what you're doing and enjoy the process."

And last but not least, Cloakwork has also shared some of his thoughts about Stive Asia:

"I believe it's a good idea to interview a variety of artists to provide their back story as an inspiration for the young. Our country has many talents and it's important for us to come together and support each other at this time of need."

(Cloakwork collabs with Emart24 to produce a wall graffiti art for the friendly neighbourhood at Bandar Sunway)

Interested in graffiti art? Follow Cloakwork's social media here for his latest updates:

✦ Website: https://www.iamcloakwork.com/

✦ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cloakwork/

✦ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cloakwork/

✦ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/cloakworkstudio

✦ Behance: https://www.behance.net/cloakwork